Plate with Blue Flower and Cabbage Leaves (detail), c. 1879, Félix-Joseph-Auguste Bracquemond (French, 1833–1914), 2018-6-2

Firing the Imagination: Japanese Influence on French Ceramics, 1860-1910
August 31, 2024 – May 26, 2025

This exhibition brings together notable examples of French ceramics that demonstrate tremendous innovation in the field of artistic pottery from the 1860s to 1910s. European artists during this period were deeply influenced by Japanese art, including woodblock prints, ceramics, textiles, and lacquerwares, which poured into Europe following the forced reopening of Japan’s ports to foreign trade in the 1850s. Part of a broader cultural phenomenon that came to be known as “Japonisme,” artists such as Félix Bracquemond, Ernest Chaplet, Théodore Deck, François Laurin, and Albert-Louis Dammouse incorporated subjects, decorations, and forms inspired by Japanese art into their ceramics while also experimenting with new techniques like barbotine (a method of decorating ceramics with colored clay slips) and glazes imitating highly prized examples of East Asian ceramics.

The works on view come from the collection of Larry A. Simms, a retired New Jersey public schoolteacher who amassed one of the most important private collections of “Japonisme” ceramics in the United States, many of which he has now donated to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

To learn more, click here.

Installation view, Observing My Distant Self: Kang Chunhui, First Floor, Exhibition Hall No.2, INKstudio

Observing My Distant Self: Kang Chunhui
Closing Friday, August 30, 2024

There’s still time to catch Kang Chunhui’s premiere solo show at INKstudio if you are in Beijing. Offering an immersive journey into a crucial juncture in the artist’s artistic development, Observing My Distant Self unfolds in two distinct sections, “Observing My Distant Self” and “Undeniably Me,” throughout the multi-level gallery with works ranging from an expansive, eight-part video to ink and mineral pigments on paper.

Occupying the entirety of INKstudio’s ground floor, Observing My Distant Self 73°40′E～96°23′E 34°25′N～48°10′N, 2019-2023, is an eight-part multimedia project comprised of 6’6”-long videos responding to Kang’s childhood dream in the form of a metaphorical pilgrimage to the Western Regions. Throughout her journey, Kang explores the boundaries between place, history, memory, self and creativity, conceiving them not as rigid territories but as expansive areas for exploration, exchange, synthesis and transformation.

On INKstudio’s third floor, Kang debuts new works in her Post-Modern synthesis of historical Central and East-Asian polychrome painting styles. These latest works explore such themes as resonances between Eastern and Western mythologies, the dialogical relationship between self and history through the landscape, and the transmutation of land into pigment into art.

Kang Chunhui is a female visual artist born in Urumqi and educated in Seoul who has entered the hallowed grounds of the literati landscape—populated since its inception exclusively by men—to assert herself as a contemporary artist with an uncompromising, distinctly feminine vision. Be sure to visit this fantastic exhibit before it closes on Friday, August 30th!

To learn more, click here.

Group of ceramic works by Maeda Masahiro, Yamada Hiroki, and Kato Shuntai; Hanging scroll by Arakawa Toyozo; Courtesy Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.

Asia Week New York is enthusiastically planning for the upcoming Fall season of Asian art exhibitions and auction sales. Taking place from September 12-20, twelve top Asian art galleries and seven auction houses will be participating in Asia Week New York Autumn 2024 with their fascinating in-person and online exhibitions.

We will keep you informed with details of all our members’ exhibitions, openings and sales with further announcements leading up to Autumn 2024 and Daily Digest emails to help you keep track of all the art you want to see and events you won’t want to miss!

Until then, we are pleased to highlight our New York City member galleries and auction houses that look forward to opening their doors and welcoming your visit next month!

NYC GALLERIES:

Alisan Fine Arts
Chinyee: Enraptured By Color
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 5, 2024, 6-8pm
September 5–October 26, 2024

Dai Ichi Arts, Ltd.
The Craft of Tea: The Art of Contemporary Japanese Tea Ceramics
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 12, 4:30-6:30pm with Tea Service
September 12–27, 2024

Fu Qiumeng Fine Art
Transcultural Dialogues: The Journey of East Asian Art to the West
July 11–October 19, 2024

HK Arts & Antiques LLC
Autumn Group Exhibition
September 27–October 16, 2024

Ippodo Gallery
Expanding Earth: New Works by Yukiya Izumita
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 12, 6–8pm with the Artist
September 12–October 3, 2024

Joan B Mirviss LTD
Quiet Elegance: The Ceramics of Fukumoto Fuku
September 13–October 25, 2024

Onishi Gallery
The Spirit of Noto: Urushi Artists of Wajima and Waves of Resilience
Preview: Mid-September, 2024 (dates forthcoming)
October 3–25, 2024

Scholten Japanese Art
TREASURED VIEWS: The Stipanich Collection of Kawase Hasui Woodblock Prints
September 12–20, 2024

Thomsen Gallery
Nihonga: Japanese Pre-War Paintings
September 12–27, 2024

Zetterquist Galleries
White Wares from China and Vietnam
September 13–20, 2024

NYC AUCTION HOUSES:

Bonhams
Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Previews: September 11–15, 10am-5pm
Auction: Monday, September 16, 2024 at 9am

The Robert and Florette Weiss Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles
Auction: Monday, September 16, 2024 at 3pm

Classical and Modern Chinese Paintings
Previews: Dates forthcoming
Auction: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 9am

A Private Collection of Japanese Prints
Previews: Dates forthcoming
Auction: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 10am

Fine Japanese Art and Korean Art, including Japanese Art from the Collection of Alan Simone Hartman
Previews: Dates forthcoming
Auction: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 12pm

Christie’s
Japanese and Korean Art
Previews: September 13–16, 10am-5pm
Auction: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 10am

South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art
Previews: September 13–14 & 16–17, 10am-5pm; Sept 15, 1-5pm
Auction: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 10am

Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art
Previews: September 13–14 & 16–17, 10am-5pm; Sept 15, 1-5pm; Sept 18, 10-2pm
Auction: Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 9am

Doyle

Asian Works of Art
Previews: September 13–16, 12-5pm
Auction: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 10am

Decorative Asian Art
Previews: September 13–16, 12-5pm
Auction: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 10am

Freeman’s | Hindman

Asian Works of Art
Previews: September 14–19, 10am-5pm
Auction: Friday, September 20, 2024 at 10am

Heritage Auctions

Japanese Woodblock Prints from The Nelkin Collection Part II Signature® Auction #8152
Previews: September 18–24, by Appointment, 10am-5pm
Auction: Wednesday, September 25, 2024

iGavel Auctions

A Series of Three Online Auctions from a Round Top TX Ranch Chinese Works of Art
Previews: September 13–20 (closed Sunday), 9:30am-4pm
Auction: September 10–October 11, 2024

Sotheby’s

Dharma and Tantra
Previews: September 12–13 & 16, 10am-5pm,  Sept 14, 10am-6pm, Sept 15, 12-5pm
Auction: Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 10am

Chinese Art
Previews: September 12–13 & 16–17, 10am-5pm,  Sept 14, 10am-6pm, Sept 15, 12-5pm
Auction: Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 9am

Image ©Acky Bright

Acky Bright: Studio Infinity
Exclusive Preview: August 23–25, 2024
Exhibition: October 4, 2024–January 19, 2025
333 East 47th Street

Japan Society is thrilled to present an exclusive preview viewing of Acky Bright: Studio Infinity, the first solo NYC exhibition dedicated to the acclaimed Japanese artist known for his kawakakkoii (cute and cool) illustration style and recent global campaigns with McDonald’s, Netflix and BMW, from August 23rd to 25th.

Officially opening in October, this dynamic new exhibition will transform Japan Society’s gallery into a working design studio, offering visitors the extraordinary chance to meet the artist, witness his freestyle “live drawing” and participate in making a series of manga-style murals.

Until then, catch a glimpse of Studio Infinity this weekend, which is hosted in conjunction with Anime NYC happening at the Javits Convention Center. The artist will appear in-person during select hours of the preview and audiences will be able to watch him create his mural live.

To learn more and reserve your ticket, click here.

Installation view, Themes and Variations, Alisan Fine Arts, NYC

Themes and Variations
Closing Friday, August 23, 2024
120 East 65th St, NYC

This is the last week to experience the wondrous ways artists push the boundaries of art-making with Chinese ink in Themes and Variations at Alisan Fine Arts.

Divided into three themes: Signs and Symbols, Spiritual Landscapes, and Poetry and Painting, this group show celebrates how each of these artists incorporates longstanding traditional subjects in Chinese art and develops new approaches to expand these concepts further in their own visual way.

The exhibition includes work by Hung Fai, Hung Keung, Lee Chunyi, Lin Guocheng, Lok Yitong, Ren Light Pan, Tai Xiangzhou, Wesley Tongson, Wang Mengsha, Wang Tiande, Wai Pongyu, Wei Ligang, Zhang Xiaoli, Zhang Ying and Zhang Yirong.

Alisan Fine Arts opened the second rotation of works on July 24th, so if you haven’t yet seen these new pieces on display, then be sure to stop by before the show closes on Friday, August 23rd!

To learn more, click here.

Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933-2009), Globular vase with narrow upraised mouth, vertical white stripe, and infused kutani glaze in gradations of yellow, green, light blue, indigo, and dark blue, 1997, glazed porcelain, 9 3/8 x 9 5/8 x 9 5/8 in.

Summer Heat
Closing August 23, 2024
39 East 78th St, Suite 401

Joan B Mirviss LTD’s current exhibition, aptly titled Summer Heat, brings together a marvelous selection of ceramics from the gallery.

One such standout is this globular vase by Tokuda Yasokichi III 徳田 八十吉 (1933-2009). Born in Ishikawa Prefecture as the eldest son of Tokuda Yasokichi II, Tokuda learned the traditional methods of kutani glaze preparation and decoration from his grandfather, Tokuda Yasokichi I. At first Tokuda confined himself to traditional style pieces with a modern flavor. However, after 1973, he was prompted by his peers to develop a personal style. He invented a technique that enabled him to control the suffusion of kutani color glazes, creating a starburst effect that is, according to the artist, “somewhat in the manner of modern color-field painters such as Mark Rothko.” Tokuda was designated National Living Treasure in 1997 for porcelain with colored glazes.

Be sure to visit the gallery this month to experience this riveting work in person!

To learn more, click here.

L-R: Landscapes of the Four Seasons: Spring and Summer, Hishikawa Sori, Japan, late 18th–early 19th c., color, ink, and gold on paper, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Freer Collection, Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1906.233; Ōsumi Yukie (b. 1945), Wave Crests (Namiho), Japan, Heisei era, 2008, hammered silver with nunomezõgan (textile imprint inlay) in lead and gold, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Bequest of Shirley Z. Johnson, S2022.8.32a–d; Seated Ganesha, India, Karnataka state, Halebid, 12th–13th c., chloritic schist, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Arthur M. Sackler Collection, Gift of Arthur M. Sackler, S1987.960

Take advantage of these long summer days with a trip to our nation’s capital and join the many educational events at the National Museum of Asian Art, including in person focus tours on Tibetan shrines, Japanese metalwork, objects of Hindu and Buddhist traditions and ghostly woodblock prints. Or if you can’t make it in person, then join them online for weekly meditation sessions!

IN-FOCUS TOURS:

Tibetan Shrine Room
Thursdays, Aug 15, 22, 29
2:00-2:20 pm & 2:45-3:05 pm (EDT)
Meet in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 26

Immerse yourself in the contemplative ambiance of the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room with a twenty-minute docent-led talk. The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room contains more than two hundred objects, including bronzes, paintings, silk hangings, and carpets, that were created in Tibet, China, and Mongolia between the thirteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Striking Objects: Contemporary Japanese Metalwork
Fridays, Aug 16, 23, 30
2:00-2:20 pm & 2:45-3:05 pm (EDT)
Meet in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 22

Closely examine a few Japanese masterpieces of hammered metalwork during a twenty-minute tour led by our docents. Learn how metalwork artists skillfully combine tradition with creativity and innovation, and get a taste of the largest collection of contemporary Japanese metalworks in the United States.

The Art of Knowing in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Himalayas
Saturdays, Aug 17, 24, 31
2:00-2:20 pm & 2:45-3:05 pm (EDT)
Meet in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 22

Take a closer look at objects, such as stone sculptures, gilt bronzes, and painted manuscripts, that highlight Hindu and Buddhist traditions. In this twenty-minute tour, our docents will help you consider the critical role visual culture played in these traditions from the ninth to the twentieth century. Hear stories about deities, from Ganesha, the god of beginnings, to goddesses who personify wisdom.

Staging Supernatural: Ghosts and the Theater in Japanese Prints
Sundays, Aug 18 & 25
2:00-2:20 pm & 2:45-3:05 pm (EDT)
Meet in the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery 25

Slowly and thoughtfully view a few ghostly Japanese woodblock prints in this twenty-minute tour with our docents. Through the lens of Japanese traditional theater, this exhibition examines vibrant prints and illustrated books from Japan spanning the seventeenth through early twentieth centuries.

To learn more about these tours and more, click here.

ONLINE EVENT:

Meditation and Mindfulness
Tuesdays & Fridays, Aug 16, 20, 23, 27, 30
12:00-12:45 pm (EDT)

Meditation helps us build a relationship to a place of inner quietude. Whether you’re a beginner or a skilled practitioner, join us for free online meditation sessions each week led by DC-based meditation teachers on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday sessions include inspiration from art in the museum collections as well as appearances by special guest teachers and artists. All are welcome! No previous experience is required. Meet our meditation teachers: Aparna Sadananda and Philip Bender.

To register via Zoom, click here.

Installation view, Observing My Distant Self: Kang Chunhui, Third Floor, Exhibition Hall No.3, INKstudio

We are thrilled to shine this week’s Gallery Spotlight on Beijing-based INKstudio. Since its inception in 2012, the gallery’s mission has been to present Chinese experimental ink as a distinctive contribution to contemporary transnational art-making through curated exhibitions supported by in-depth critical analysis, scholarly exchange, bilingual publishing, and multimedia production.

INKstudio’s program encompasses Postwar and contemporary artists from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan who exhibit works of diverse media, including painting, calligraphy, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, and video.

Their current exhibition, Observing My Distant Self: Kang Chunhui, marks Kang Chunhui’s premiere solo show at the gallery and offers an immersive journey into a crucial juncture in her artistic development. With works ranging from an expansive, eight-part video to ink and mineral pigments on paper, the show unfolds in two distinct sections, “Observing My Distant Self” and “Undeniably Me,” throughout the multi-level gallery. Kang Chunhui is a female visual artist born in Urumqi and educated in Seoul who has entered the hallowed grounds of the literati landscape—populated since its inception exclusively by men—to assert herself as a contemporary artist with an uncompromising, distinctly feminine vision. Be sure to visit this fantastic exhibit before it closes at the end of this month on August 30th!

To learn more, click here.